A Gang Reporter Reveals A Sweetness For Roses

"War of the Roses" -Sunday L.A. Times Magazine, June 14, 1998

I committed a burglary recently.

On a spring midnight, I parked my Ford pickup truck on a quiet street in Garden Grove and surveyed the neighborhood. Heart pounding, I grabbed my burglary tool and walked toward the front door of the house on Richmond Avenue.

I'll admit I wasn't the coolest thief in town--certainly not a Cary Grant. After all, I hadn't burgled in the nearly 30 years since my cousins Dave, Jeff and Richard and I broke into Uncle Popkin's house in Eagle Rock to steal shish kebab. Neighbors called the police and soon a cop chopper whirled above the hilly neighborhood searching for us--successfully. The cops let us go. Our parents weren't so kind.

But failure be damned; at age 43 I was compelled to strike again.

Just as I neared the treasures, the security lights of the beige-and-blue four-bedroom house blew my cover. No greater spotlight ever shone on any performer on Broadway or any convict scaling the wall at Folsom. I felt the eyes of the world--or at least Orange County--upon me. How could I have been so careless to forget the security lights? I had installed them myself five years ago for my former girlfriend, Carol.

But I had crossed the Rubicon. I took the tool of choice, a Swiss-made Felco hand pruner, and went to work.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

Better go. Don't push it. The cops could be on their way--and how would I explain this midnight foray on a home that Carol has rented to strangers for the past two years? I quicklyran/walked back to the truck and escaped into the night.

Two blocks away, I turned on the interior light and admired my loot. Tiffany. Paradise. Double Delight. Three breathtakingly beautiful roses.

I don't know what the courts would have ruled had I been caught. But perhaps they might have been sympathetic; I had planted these roses.

From 1989 to 1994, roses, along with dining at the world's best French restaurants, were Carol's and my No. 1 hobby. And while dinner at the Girardet restaurant in Crissier, Switzerland, and Joel Robuchon in Paris set me back a sumptuous grand, one good rosebush cost a sawbuck and, with proper care, will outlive me.

I planted 33 roses at Carol's house. At my Dad's home in Gardena, where I usually was when I wasn't at Carol's, I planted 28.

We joined the American Rose Society. We entered the Pasadena Rose Show in 1993, winning three second-place red ribbons (for Paradise, Brandy and Color Magic).

Then, after nearly six years together, Carol and I broke up. There was no court settlement. She would get custody of the roses. I would get nothing. Not even visitation rights.

Until recently, I lived in Los Feliz Village, where I had rented a small bungalow with a yard--actually a flower bed. Well, it was more like a flower cot. I had one rose in the ground, First Prize, a two-toned pink rose with little fragrance but blooms as big as dinner plates.

In a round wooden container, I raised a vermilion hybrid tea called Granada. I positioned the pot near the entrance to my place. When someone asked me about my dwelling, I sometimes said, "I can look out my front door and see Granada."

Most people are surprised when I tell them I'm into roses in such a big way. They think I'm kidding when I say I'm a member of the American Rose Society. I have to pull out my tattered card to prove it. (It's the only society I've ever belonged to.)

But I guess I can see their point. I don't come off as the typical rosarian.

I've been a street reporter covering South-Central and Watts. I've gone to housing projects late at night and sipped Olde English 800 with the homeboys. I know guys named Big Evil, Mad Dog and Snipe. I wear a lot of dark clothing. I have a couple of scars on my forehead from disastrous street battles in the '80s.

I may act like a tough guy sometimes, but if someone showed me a Double Delight in the middle of a street fight, I might stop and stare for a few seconds. God forbid any of the fellas should read this.

My mother was named Rose, and two years after she died, I started buying them. Her name helped, but I just happen to like the look of a good garden rose. I like the variety, the different names. I like working in the garden and feeding them. I like that they grow as well on Grape Street in Watts as they do on Mapleton Drive in Holmby HIlls. And I like putting the cut flowers in an old Chateau Cheval Blanc bottle, knowing I drank the wine and grew the roses.

I keep my pruners in the car, but not for purposes of theft. I have been known, while waiting for someone--anyone--to wander into a stranger's yard and prune a rosebush that hasn't been cared for since D-day. I've knocked on doors and explained the situation: "Excuse me, I'm just waiting for a friend, and I saw your rosebush could use a little pruning. Would you mind if I clipped it a bit? No charge."

Some people look at me as if I'm a serial killer. Others emerge to discuss their garden; some are ashamed and promise to take better care of their Mister Lincoln (a classic red with fragrance) or Pristine (a delicate off-white tinged with pink, sporting a high center).

The single most stunning rose I've ever grown was a Chicago Peace. I cut the flower, a more deeply colored relative of the world-famous Peace, and gave it to my sister, Jeanine. I must have looked at that rose 70 times and every time I did it made me feel almost spiritual.

I felt the same way as I drove away from Carol's house, gazing at Double Delight, a creamy white flower whose petals are thickly bordered in a brilliant red and whose fragrance is as dreamy as a bouquet of sweet peas. I don't understand guys who try to impress dolls with a dozen red roses from a florist. One Double Delight will do the trick--if the trick can be done.

Technically, I suppose, my raid at Carol's house was a burglary. But, now that I think about it, I'd have to say it was a different kind of crime. In a burglary, you take objects, not living things. No, this was more like a kidnapping.

Michael Krikorian covered South-Central Los Angeles and Watts for The Times.

Double Delight, my second favorite Rose, after my mom. 

BREAKING NEWS Chef Dominique Crenn Wanted By Police, Flees to France

Renowned San Francisco chef Dominique Crenn has fled the country after learning federal, state and local law enforcement agencies issued a warrant for her arrest Sunday following a shocking incident at the inaugural "All-Star Chef Classic" in downtown Los Angeles.

Crenn, the first female chef in the United States to be awarded two Michelin stars and the subject of a current episode of Netfilx's "Chef's Table", stunned the audience at "Restaurant Stadium" during a cooking challenge between chefs Josiah Citrin and Jennifer Jasinski when she "assaulted a fish," according to law enforcement sources and several eyewitnesses.

The fish,  a suzuki, aka wild Japanese bass, was Citrin's and he was outraged.

"That dumb ass bitch from San Francisco fucked up my dish," said a visible upset Citrin, the chef owner of Melisse in Santa Monica.  

Saturday night, Citrin was immersed in final stages of an intense cook off against Denver's Jasinski when the drama unfolded near L.A. Live. Standing stage right, Crenn grabbed a container of a green vegetable sauce, crept up behind Citrin and just before his dish was to be judged, dumped the entire container onto the suzuki. The fish was ruined instantaneously..

Stunned, Citirn reached for a chef's knife, but was restrained by John Mason, a retired U.S. Army Delta Force commando hired as the event's chief security officer. After several seconds of silence, the dumbfounded audience headed for the exits. Several people were heard saying "Did I really just see that?"  Event organizer, Lucy Lean, began weeping and muttered, "The French."

The alleged assault on the fish was not the only thuggish behavior Crenn exhibited Saturday. At the JW Marriott Hotel bar earlier, she incessantly bullied Nancy Silverton's assistant, Little Michelle Francis, into giving up her prescription eye glasses because, she said, "They look good on me.".

Later at Chi Spacca di Mozza, Crenn unleashed even more outlaw characteristics After a woman asked gang reporter Michael Krikorian "Are you Nancy Silverton's father?" Crenn, a striking and poetic chef from Versailles, threatened to "take that stupid woman out in the alley and beat the shit out of her." Silverton's assistant Little Michelle, clearly under Crenn's influence by now, offered to help.

Sunday morning, as he prepared for the finale of the All-Star Chef Classic, Citrin was still fuming. "They should change her name from Dominique to Domi-Nut," said Citrin, who, like Crenn, has two Michelin stars. "To top it off, I made that fuckin' sauce," 

Using satellite data, Interpol reported Crenn had landed Sunday evening in Paris and may be heading to Brittany where her mother lives.

"She'll probably try to hide out at her mother's and hope the French do not extradite her back to America to face charges," said LAPD detective Sal LaBarbera. "They bring her back here and she's toast. French toast."

UPDATE : France's Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence has reported a woman fitting Crenn's description was spotted in Mont St. Michel wearing a chef jacket with the inscription "Lucy Lean".  

BREAKING NEWS - Fugitive Crenn Named "Best Female Chef in the World"   Check it -  http://www.krikorianwrites.com/blog/2016/4/28/fugitive-dominique-crenn-awarded-best-woman-chef-in-the-world-fbi-names-elizabeth-falkner-as-person-of-interest

Dominique Crenn with her new glasses.

Josiah Citrin and Dominique Crenn in happier times.

Ugly Drum Pop Ups; Looking Back 10 Years Ago

March 22, 2024

Ten years ago, the now-classic Los Angeles barbecue Ugly Drum hosted a series of "pop ups" to help promote Eric Black and his extraordinary garage-to-table smoked meats. Today, fans of the wildly popular restaurants - there 13 in four states - find it hard to believe Black had to cajole established restaurateurs to let him host a night where he and partner Joe Marcos could showcase their succulent pastrami, ribs, brisket and hot links. 

I was in line last night at the Ugly Drum flagship in Watts telling this lady about an Eric Black pop-up I went to at Mendocino Farms, Gilmore Station one evening back in 2014. The woman said "Wow, It musta been like seeing Miles Davis jam at a bar when he was a teenager in East St. Louis." I said "Not quite."

Still, it was delicious and I remember it like it was only a few days ago. I sat across from mega chef Chris Feldmeier who had yet to open any of his "Fried Meier's Bird" joints, which are now in 45 states. Feldmeier took two bites of a smoked hot link a decade ago and declared it "perfect".

Seated to my right that night was current New Yorker film critic Robert Abele who called the links "Outstanding". On the ride home, my date that night, former restaurant owner now celebrity game show host Nancy Silverton, called the links "terrific". Me, I'm thinking these links have been called "perfect", "outstanding" and "terrific" in one night.  That's a good night for any dish, let alone a link.

After I recalled this to the lady last night, she asked me if Ugly Drum had any other pops up during in 2014. 

"Yeah," I told her. "They had a series of lunches at Mendocino Farms around town in late March and April that year highlighting their superb pecan wood smoked pastrami sandwich with creamy apple slaw, baby swiss and Carolina moppin' mustard sauce on deli rye.." 

"Wow, you remember those events? That was 10 years ago."

"Yes. Barbecue that good, I can't forget. I kinda miss those days. I wish I could go back in time and go to an Ugly Drum pop up." 

*** For more Ugly Drum updates check https://www.facebook.com/uglydrum or twitter @uglydrum

Ugly Drum link and pastrami 

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Salt & Straw Ice Cream's Suspicious Delivery Disrupts Mozza Service

Service was temporarily disrupted at the legendary Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles this afternoon when six pints of the Portland-based Salt & Straw ice cream were delivered to the pastry kitchen causing the owner, head chef and general manager to abandoned their customers to savor the frozen goodness.

Kim Malek, who owns Salt & Straw with her cousin Tyler, came to the pizzeria Sunday for the first time and was given a brief tour of the pastry department where she exchanged pleasantries with pastry sous Carrie and pastry's Sean, who is seen in the photo eating ice cream with a rather guilty look..

The six pint delivery was at first greeted as a "cool thank you" from Malek to the staff.  However, suspecting foul play, Krikorian Writes obtained and reviewed the restaurant's Sunday security tape and it clearly showed Malek snapping at least a dozen spy photos of the kitchen. No charges have been filed, but the "gift" of the six pints today may be her attempt to makeup for the kitchen spy photos, a felony in California.

As for the service at the pizzeria, it was eventually restored, but not before baffling some customers  

"I walked into the pizzeria and I was like 'Where is everybody?'" said long time loyal customer Lonnie Bishop, the Prince of Pumps. "No Nancy. No Arielle, No Go Go.  Thank god Eva was there." 

Shortly after service was restored, GM Arielle Chernin debuted a new dessert menu which now features several ice cream flavors including double fold singing dog vanilla, Stumptown coffee and bourbon, sea salt with caramel ribbons, woodblock chocolate, pots of gold & rainbows, and Grandma Malek's almond brittle with chocolate ganache.

Nancy, Go Go, Arielle and Sean eating something clearly meant for me.

Dozen of Degrees of Separation, Why David Rosoff Left Mozza

12. Realized he could make more  money and work fewer hours if he just robbed Doug Zamensky once a week.

11, Going to work for the @funwithkate twitter account as Kate Green's assistant.

10. Took a job with the Israeli government as Benny Netanyahu's personal poison taster. 

9. Didn't quit, was actually fired by Adriel "AD" Lopez for being too mellow during service 

8.  Tired of getting into easy-to-win fist fights with Osteria dishwashers.

7.  Felt slighted Lance would only hold his reserved table for two at the pizzeria for 15 minutes and 22 seconds.

6.  Depressed that months of planning a takeover robbery with Tony never materialized.

5.  Needed to relax more, so moving to Ghouta, Syria with Lyanka.

4.  No longer needs any more money after selling off his case of 1461 Chateau Latour he got from Rudy

3. Was never given an opportunity by Dahlia to showcase his baking skills.

2. Decided to open a Malt Liquor Bar next to Hawkins House of Burgers in Watts with Chris and Duke.

1.  Felt that after 8 years of employment Nancy should have at least known his first name.

Former Osteria Mozza General Manager on a typical night at Highland and Melrose. Sounds strange to see the word "Former", such a integral cog of Mozza was he. 

Zamensky Becomes First Human Robbed By Three Species

When a red-tailed hawk mugged Orange County Pizzeria Mozza manager Doug Zamensky recently, authorities initially thought it was just another robbery in Newport Beach where rampant crime is an accepted way of life. However, when a detective started digging, she discovered this was no ordinary robbery for it marked the first time in the history of mankind that a human being had been robbed by three different species.

"I knew Zamansky had been robbed by humans before, Grape, Rollin 60s, and I think 18, but what i didn't know was that as a youth in Idaho he had been robbed and briefly kidnapped by a pair of jackals," said Orange County Sheriff's investigator Marissa LaBarbera. "It appears Zamensky is known throughout the predatory animal kingdom."

For his part, Zamensky tried to play off a TMZ-leaked security camera frame of the robbery-in-progress (seen below) as being "Staged in the den of an Emmy-winning producer. Not a big deal really."

Sadly, a source close to the investigation said Zamensky was forced at beak point to dress up as a penguin and take orders from the hawk, an alleged bird shot caller for the Family Swan Bloods. Zamensky's hands were so damaged in the assault that even the hawk took pity and wrapped them in large brown bandages, as clearly seen in the photo. Zamensky is said to be resting comfortably at Hoag Hospital in the psychiatric ward.  

Doug Zamansky shortly before he was rescued by Yosemite Fish and Game Commandos

Silverton Irked by Reichl, Tells Her to Leave Van Ness Palace

Despite what you may have heard, the number of words a picture is worth varies widely. Take the beautiful Afghan girl on a 1985 cover of National Geographic. That photograph's worth sixty, seventy thousand words. Other photos, like, say, a shot of Nadia Bohr's nephew awkwardly attempting - and failing - to score a soccer goal probably is good for 12 or 15.

Now, the photograph that accompanies this story clocks in at 507 words, including the caption . Silverton to Reichl at Jar: "Time to Leave. Now!" 

Silverton to Reichl at Jar "Time to leave. Now!"   

The photograph, taken at Jar by award-winning NBC news producer Madeleine Hareringer,  clearly shows an exasperated Nancy Silverton, her patience gone, her annoyance in bloom, and, most alarmingly, her wine red glass removed. 

Look at that photo and you know what Silverton is thinking. 'Fancy Ruth leaning all into Michael, white wine glass right there. Me, I got nothing.' And you can understand why Nancy, at least according to sources, told Ruth to get out. 

Reichl moved into Silverton's Van Ness Palace on January 22 with her husband Michael Singer. From then, up until that photo was taken 41 days later, the two women seemed, in public at least, to get along like a fragrant bouquet of sweet peas. Reichl even won the coveted Nancy Silverton's "Top House Guest of the Month" award in February.  Liz "Go Go" Hong,  a dinner guest at the Van Ness Palace in mid-February, was stunned when she heard that Reichl had been asked to leave. "I had no idea," Go Go said, "They seemed to get along great. Though now that i think about it, Nancy did come down hard on Ruth for making a cake that crumbled."

Van Ness Palace security footage of the kitchen, obtained here, reveals that Reichl made the same Dario Cecchini-inspired olive oil orange cake five times. One, two, three, four, five. Same cake. "No one make the same cake five times with out being ordered to," said renowned pastry chef Sherry Yard.  "I've seen the security tape and Ruth does not look happy."

At one point, after baking the fourth one, Reichl places the plate holding the cake on the edge of the table, allowing Silverton's dog Zeke to gobble most of it. When Silverton returns home at midnight and finds out, she says "She did that on purpose." according to a mouth-reading expert who has seen the tape several times.

But, the final straws were drawn at a Monday night dinner at Jar and a fray became a rip. Reichl hoarded chef's Suzanne Tracht lemongrass chicken, one of Silverton's favorite dishes at Jar. Then there was the debacle with the wine: Reidel Vinum Montrachet glasses of 2008 Marcassin Estate Chardonnay for Ruth; a Cost Plus red/blush wine glass of February 2014 Bastianich Chianti Neo-Classico for Nancy.

A spokeswoman for Reichl would not confirm the writer had been told to leave Los Angeles. "Ruth was gong to leave anyway. She has a novel to promote in New York City. It's called "Delicious'."

Kate Green, Silverton's assistant, tweeted this afternoon on @funwithkate "I hope her book isn't about that cake."

Ruth Reichl Wins Top Guest Award, Singer Cries "Foul"

With a delicious finish. writer Ruth Reichl won the coveted Nancy Silverton Top House Guest of the Month award for February, traditionally one of the most hotly contested months of the year.

Reichl, who spent all of February at the Van Ness Palace. clinched the title at month's end when she bought and brought Michael Krikorian two more pints of the Salt and Straw's Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons ice cream. "It was a lovely gesture," Krikorian said, adding that once Reichl leaves, he might have to get an actual job if he wants more of that $11 a pint Portland-made ice cream. "I know Nancy is not going to step up."

Michael Singer, another Van Ness Palace guest during February, protested the award, saying the pints were technically a bribe since Reichl herself doesn't actually eat ice cream.

"She was blatantly trying to score points with Krikorian to win the award." said Singer, who has lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations. "If you review the fucking tape of the entire fucked-up month I was more fucking entertaining than Ruth. I thought my yelling at that anus-hole Matt Lauer and that clown Al Roker was a refreshing way to start each weekday morning."

Singer also noted that he provided some of the only drama of the month by collecting parking tickets and going on yelling sprees, bashing into a parked car with his rental car's side mirror, kicking out a location scout photographer and explaining why he hates Ukrainians. 

"Ruth and Nancy sit around the house talking about restaurants all day, I probably heard the word "Spacca" 95 times. What the shit is a "spacca" anyway? Meanwhile, Krikorian is going on and on about the latest killing in the Nickerson Gardens. Whoa, what a surprise there!. .At least I provided entertainment."

A judge, who spoke off the record, said while the ice cream was a factor, there were other Reichl characteristics that really won her the award, which automatically qualifies her to enter the rarified Guest of the Year competition.

"Ruth had a terrific smile throughout the month, locked herself away upstairs and wrote silently, watched television episodes out of sequence and, perhaps most importantly, never once refused Krikorian's offer of a late night glass of wine or an early morning toast with that good butter."

Still, Silverton herself said it was her dog, Zeke, who gave Reichl the nod over Singer. "Zeke really loved Ruth's olive oil orange cake. He ate half a cake."

Reichl has not commented publicly on the honor, but a source quoted her as saying "I better have won. For the amount of money I spent on ice cream for Michael, I could have stayed at the Beverly Wilshire."

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Nancy Silverton Top Guest of the Month Winner Ruth Reichl.  On right is Michael Singer in happier times.

Zeke likes this cake

Previous Guest of the Year Award (GOYA) winners

2013 -Sal LaBarbera

2012- Henry Chin

2011- Henry Chin

2010- Henry Chin

Note:; Known as "The Quiet Guest", Henry Chin may still be in the house.

Americans Turn To Turbocharging Ice Cream to Lower Costs

In an effort to combat the exorbitant price of ultra premium ice cream, a growing number of Americans are taking to "Turbocharging" less expensive brands, a move they say significantly boosts flavors levels while keeping overall costs down.

At least two people in the Windsor Square sector of Los Angeles are said to be regularly pouring and swirling a high-end caramel sauce into various Haagen Dazs flavors thereby enhancing immediate gratification, but costing three to four dollars less than current top-rated packaged flavors, most notably the Portland-based Salt and Straw's Sea Salt Ice Cream with Caramel Ribbons, the current 2014 points leader.

The swirling tactic, which is not approved by the National Ice Cream Association (NICA) and therefore not allowed in competitions, has focused almost exclusively on using the warm, nearly gurgling caramel sauce from the pastry kitchen at Mozza in Los Angeles, but advocates say that other additives could be used. 

"Souping up" just about anything is a passion - and livelihood - for millions of Americans who have formed industries on after market items for cars, motorcycles and even computers. That the practice should come to packaged ice cream was inevitable, especially with the high price of elite ice creams. 

So far, sources say the best turbocharging combo has been the Mozza caramel sauce and a pinch of  13 to 17 gros grains of fleur de sel on and into Haagen Dazs' sea salt caramel gelato. 

A spokesman for Flynn Duvall, NICA's long time president, said "so-called 'turbocharging' is illegal in competition and should be. This is the Formula One Ice Cream championships,. not some Sundae competition at a state fair. What's next? Sprinkles? Fuckin' bananas?".

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UPDATE  Just before Krikorian Writes went to press, Sarah Clark, sommelier at Osteria Mozza and ice cream aficionado, relayed information that Ben and Jerry's had introduced four new flavors, including Peanut Butter Fudge and Salted Caramel, all with a "Core" in the center, their version of turbocharging. 

MOZZA CARAMEL SAUCE

I cup heavy whipping cream, 1 whole vanilla bean, 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter ( ideally Rudolphe Le Menuier Buerre de Baratte), 1 cup sugar, 1/4 light corn syrup

Now, either mix the items all together and cook 'em up,, or go to Pizzeria Mozza, pretend to look at the Mozza Cookbook on display up front like you're seriously contemplating buying it, all interested, but, instead, with a spy camera, snap off a photo of the recipe for caramel sauce located toward the end of that book. And while you're at it, read the acknowledgments.